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A 29-year-old Berwick man was caught by narcotics detectives after he fled from them in a vehicle when they tried to make a traffic stop, St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert said in a news release.

—Cody Pearce, 29, of Pacific Street in Berwick, was arrested at 8:04 p.m. Monday on charges of aggravated obstruction of a highway of commerce, reckless operation of a vehicle, resisting an officer and no driver’s license.

Sheriff’s office narcotics detectives patrolling Berwick observed a vehicle enter their lane of travel head-on in a curve of River Road. Detectives initiated a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle accelerated, fled from detectives, and nearly struck another vehicle.

Detectives followed the vehicle to a driveway on Pacific Street where the driver came to a stop. The driver, identified as Pearce, refused to comply with detectives’ commands.

Pearce was taken into custody and detectives found that he was operating the vehicle without a driver’s license. Pearce was jailed with no bail set.

Hebert reported responding to 45 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests in east St. Mary Parish:

—Desmond Richard, 35, of Mike Drive in Patterson, was arrested at 11:08 a.m. Monday on charges of improper lane usage, no motor vehicle insurance, no driver’s license on person, proper equipment required on vehicles and failure to change address.

A deputy observed a vehicle crossing over the fog line on U.S. 90 in Calumet. The deputy also observed that the temporary license plate tag displayed on the vehicle was illegible.

The deputy conducted a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, identified as Richard. The deputy found that he did not have his driver’s license with him and that he was operating the vehicle without insurance. The deputy also found that the vehicle was registered in another state when Richard has been a resident of St. Mary Parish. Richard was released on a summons to appear in court Oct. 11.

—Joel Claudio, 40, of Grizzaffi Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 12:02 a.m. Tuesday on a warrant for failure to appear on the charges of possession of Percocet, careless operation of a motor vehicle and licensee must give notice of change of address.

A deputy patrolling Amelia observed a vehicle parked in the roadway on Friendship Alley. The deputy located the driver, identified him as Claudio, and found that he had an active warrant for his arrest. Claudio was jailed with no bail set.

—Torance Campbell, 25, of Neptune Street in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 4:49 p.m. Monday for failure to properly signal a turn, possession of marijuana, and on a warrant for improper lane usage, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Detectives of the Narcotics Section patrolling Bayou Vista observed a vehicle fail to signal two turns and conducted a traffic stop on Neptune Street. Detectives identified Campbell as the driver.

While speaking with him, detectives received consent to search the vehicle and located a bag of marijuana, Hebert said. Detectives also found that Campbell had an active warrant for his arrest. The warrant stems from a traffic stop that occurred in Morgan City.

Detectives stopped a vehicle for crossing over the solid white fog line on U.S. 90. During the traffic stop investigation, detectives smelled the odor of burning marijuana. Detectives searched Campbell and located a bag of marijuana in his pocket. Drug paraphernalia was subsequently located inside the vehicle. Campbell was released on a summons to appear in court Oct. 11.

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported responding to 38 calls and reported the following arrests:

—Lisa L. Guerrero, 35, of Vivian Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:19 p.m. Monday on a warrant for failure to appear for trial and on charges of expired driver’s license, improper lighting, no insurance and switched license plate.

—Christine Hughes, 33, of Vivian Street in Morgan City, was arrested at 10:19 p.m. Monday on a warrant for failure to appear to pay a fine.

Patrol officers observed a vehicle being operated in the area of Federal Avenue with improper lighting. A stop was initiated, and Guerrero was identified as the operator of the vehicle.

Guerrero had an expired driver’s license, no insurance and the license plate displayed was registered to another vehicle. Guerrero also held active warrants for her arrest through the 16th Judicial District Court.

Hughes was an occupant in the vehicle and had active city court warrants. Guerrero and Hughes were jailed.

Berwick Police Chief James Richard reported no arrests.

Patterson Police Chief Patrick LaSalle reported no arrests.

Blood supplies across the country remain at dangerously low levels following a severe decline in blood donations leading up to and following the July 4th holiday, United Blood Services said.

UBS is calling on the community to come forward and give blood this week and throughout the remainder of the summer.

Donations from O-negative donors, the universal blood type, are especially important this time of year due to increased accidents and trauma cases.

The current O-negative blood supply sits at an approximate two-day supply, which is half of the ideal quantity needed to support patient needs.

Additionally, platelet donations, which have a shelf-life of only five days, are in high demand after a slow holiday week.

However, donors of all types are needed.

To accommodate donors, operating hours at the donor center located at 1234 David Drive, Suite 102, in Morgan City, the week of July 10 are as follows:

Tuesday, July 11: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 12: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 13: CLOSED

Friday, July 14: CLOSED

Saturday, July 15: CLOSED

Individuals who are 18 years of age (16 and 17 with parental consent), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in general good health may be eligible to donate blood.

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert reported the following arrests:
Desmond Richard, 35, of 341 Mike Drive, Patterson, was arrested Monday at 11:08 a.m. on charges of improper lane use, no vehicle insurance, no driver’s license on person, proper equipment violation and failure to change address. He was released on a summons.
Joel Claudio, 40, of 301 Grizzaffi St., Morgan City, was arrested today at 12:02 a.m. on a failure to appear warrant on charges of possession of Percocet, careless operation and failure to give notice of change of address. No bond was set.
Narcotics Section agents arrested Torrance Campbell, 25, of 422 Neptune St., Bayou Vista, Monday at 4:49 p.m. on charges of for failure to properly signal a turn, possession of Schedule I (marijuana), and on a warrant for improper lane usage, possession of Schedule I (marijuana) and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on a summons.
Cody Pearce, 29, of 375 Pacific St., Berwick, was arrested Monday at 8:04 p.m. on charges of aggravated obstruction of a highway, reckless operation, resisting an officer and no driver’s license. No bond was set.
Chitimacha Police Chief Hal Hutchinson reported the arrest of Amy Jackson, 75, of Big Four Corners Road, Jeanerette, was arrested on a charge of theft and released on a summons.
Franklin Police Chief Sabria McGuire reported the arrest of George March, 41, of La. 319, Franklin, Monday at 6:44 p.m. on a charge of disturbing the peace intoxicated and released to appear in court.
Marshal Bell Jr., 40, of Sanders Street, Franklin, was arrested today at 1:11 a.m. on a New Iberia city court warrant charging him with failure to comply with probation terms. No bond was set.

Often, the things people plant first in new landscapes are the lawn and shade trees. As time goes on, however, sun-loving lawn grasses and shade trees don’t go together particularly well.
Shade trees grow up to do exactly what they were planted to do — create shade. Eventually, areas where grass had always grown well will no longer get enough sun. Bare areas under and around trees occur because conditions are too shady for grass to thrive there. If you are trying to deal with this sort of situation, here are some things you can do.
You can increase the amount of sunlight reaching the turf by selectively pruning trees in the landscape. The lower branches and some of the inner branches may be removed to allow more light to reach the lawn below. Raising and thinning the canopy on older, mature trees is best done by a professional arborist who can determine which branches should be removed without adversely affecting the tree.
After this is done, the existing grass will hopefully do better. If the grass has died out in the area, you can lay new sod. Remember, the tree will continue to grow, and this should be considered, at best, a temporary solution.
St. Augustine is considered the most shade-tolerant grass for our area and should be tried if shade is an issue. Understand that the word tolerance does not mean that this grass thrives in the shade. All our lawn grasses prefer full sun; it’s just that St. Augustine will do better than the others with some shade during the day.
Rye grasses and fescues will grow quite well in shady areas during our cool season, but they must be replanted every fall as the heat kills them in May. During summer, areas where these cool season grasses were growing are bare.
Grass growing in shaded areas should be mowed at a slightly higher setting on your lawn mower than normally recommended. This allows the leaf blades to grow longer and therefore have more surface area to absorb what light is available and produce food through photosynthesis. St. Augustine can be mowed at a height of 4 inches. Grass growing under trees needs less fertilizer because it grows slower, but it may need more irrigation as the tree roots compete with the grass for water.
If after these efforts you still can’t get grass to grow under your tree, it’s time to accept the situation and stop wasting your time and money trying to make grass grow where it can’t. Unless cutting down the tree is an option, you have two choices: cover the area with a few inches of mulch, or look at the area as an outstanding opportunity to create a new garden with shade-loving plants.
Trees love a layer of mulch over their roots, and this is the best solution as far as the tree is concerned. The mulch should be about 4 inches thick. Feel free to use the leaves the trees drop in the fall to mulch shady areas under their canopies. You can also purchase mulches based on what look you prefer.
The most important thing to remember when creating landscaped areas under a tree is to respect the root system of the tree itself. Avoid severing any roots larger than 1 inch in diameter. Because bare soil areas often become compacted over time, turn the soil with a garden fork rather than with a shoved or spade because the fork will damage fewer roots.
If you need to bring in extra soil to create the bed, choose a garden soil mix high in organic matter and spread no more than about 4 inches deep. Do not pile several inches of soil around the base of a tree trunk because this can lead to decay. If you intend to fill in an area that will cover a large part of the tree’s root system, do not apply more than 2 inches of fill.
The simplest solution to addressing bare spots is to plant the area entirely with a low-growing ground cover. The three best ground covers for large areas are monkey grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), creeping lily turf (Liriope spicata) and Asian jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum). These ground covers are reliable, easy to grow and relatively fast spreading.
Other ground covers suitable for larger areas include ferns, such as holly fern, autumn fern, wood fern and many others, English ivy, Japanese ardisia, liriope (Liriope muscari), Algerian ivy and the asparagus fern (Asparagus sprengeri).
Many other plants thrive in partially shaded to shady conditions.
For colorful bedding plants, try impatiens, wax begonias, caladiums and torenias.
Shade-tolerant perennials include ferns, hostas, ground orchid, strawberry begonia, indigo, ligularia, aspidistra, purple heart, ajuga, cardinal flower, Indian pinks, violets and the many gingers.
Shrubs to consider include hollies, azaleas, nandinas, cleyera, sago, hydrangea, ligustrum, aucuba, fatsia, mahonia, pittosporum, hydrangea, mahonia, red buckeye, sasanqua, camellia and Christmas berry (Ardisia crispa).
When the lawn grass finally decides that an area has become too shady for it to grow there anymore, don’t fight it. Instead, open yourself to the wonderful possibilities of planting a beautiful and satisfying garden of shade-loving plants.